Merry Christmas!

Doesn't the house look great this year?






OK, I should probably mention that this isn't my house. It's my parents' house. But I can always pretend it's mine. (The snow kind of gives it away - they've had over two feet in the past few days, while it's 50˚ here.)

We've had a wonderfully peaceful Christmas. We went to a lovely church service with my sister and her family yesterday and then rushed home so I could make our big Christmas Eve dinner: standing rib roast with a horseradish/crème fraîche sauce, smashed potatoes, steamed French green beans, and my mom's famous rolls. For dessert I made my dad's ice cream pie (Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk in a chocolate cookie crust) and a gingerbread cake with spiced crème anglaise - but after dinner we were so tired and full that we never got around to eating either one. This morning we all slept in until 8:00 then went downstairs to open gifts. Sawyer got way too many presents from his grandparents and aunts and uncles (and some from us too) including a tricycle, Backyardigans dolls, an authentic looking pirate chest, the Fisher Price Little People airport, a Leapster 2 with games, Backyardigans DVDs, a Hot Wheels racetrack, and LOTS of books. Eric gave me a KitchenAid Professional 600 mixer, which I have been coveting for a long time, so no dog house for him this year! I gave him the Matrix trilogy on Blu-ray and a new Playstation game he asked for. We had a big breakfast of my mom's Christmas Morning Casserole (too much food!!) and spent the rest of the day playing with toys. It's been really nice to be home with just our little family - no stressful travel or family drama. We love being with our extended families, but it's also nice to experience the holidays in our own home together. We've had a lot of opportunities to contemplate our blessings and the foundation of our spiritual lives.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Dog House

This video has been making the e-mail rounds. Just in case you haven't seen it:


I sent it to Eric a few days ago, and he reported back that after showing it to one of his friends at work, the friend was reconsidering his plan to give his wife a body fat monitor for Christmas. My work is done!

It reminds me of when my father-in-law gave my mother-in-law a Red Hat Society sweater for her birthday. She's in her 40s. And then when she went to return it, she found out he had bought it at Cracker Barrel. Classy!

Oasis and (not) Ryan Adams

Going to concerts is one of my favorite things to do, so I often ask for tickets for my birthday or Christmas. For my last birthday we went to see Matchbox 20. The first Christmas after we got married Eric took me to see Tori Amos. I love getting an experience as a gift, rather than more things. I have too many things. For my big Christmas present this year, I got to see these guys.


But sadly, not this one.



When I saw that Ryan Adams and the Cardinals were opening for Oasis at a venue near us, I couldn't pass it up. Oasis was my favorite band all through high school and college, and Ryan Adams has been my favorite for the past several years. But due to a series of unfortunate events, we were late to the show and walked in right after Ryan and the Cardinals had finished. It wasn't meant to be. Here's what I imagine it would have been like if I had seen them play one of my favorite songs, "Let It Ride." (This was during his scruffy stage, he looks better now. Not that it's about the looks. It's all about the music. Just the music. Ahem.)

Luckily though I'm told he comes to our area a lot so I should get another chance to see him live. And my awesome sister-in-law loves him too so we can go together and spare Eric all my screaming. He lucked out during Oasis since I'm sick and didn't have the energy to get *too* wild. The show was great, although I will say that I would have enjoyed it a lot more had they left out all their new songs and played only songs from "Definitely Maybe" and "Morning Glory." The highlight for me was "Masterplan." Their new stuff just doesn't do it for me. I must be getting old.

Bret and Jemaine are back!

Season 2 Online Premiere - Flight of the Conchords (US Only) - watch more funny videos

Words cannot describe how much I love this show.

Best lines:

(At 10:03, Answering the question: what do women like?)
Jemaine: Women love weaving. They love to weave.
Bret: Nah. Weaving is a man's game.
Jemaine: Bret. You put a woman in front of a weaving machine, and just watch her go.
Bret: No, honestly. My dad weaves, my grandfather was a weaver.
Jemaine: I thought your dad was a sheep lawyer.
Bret: Yeah, during the day, but at night he weaves a lot. I come from a family of weavers.
Jemaine: I've never seen a man weave.
Bret: I love weaving. I'm weaving at the moment. Making a pair of trousers.

(Later)
Bret: Women's rights.
Jemaine: No, that's more a man's thing, isn't it?
Bret: No, definitely a woman's thing.
Jemaine: Nah, my father's a women's rights activist.
Bret: Your dad?
Jemaine: Yeah.
Bret: What about your mum?
Jemaine: No, my mum? No. Dad wouldn't allow that. No way.

Holiday Deliciousness

I've found a new favorite holiday treat: Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares. I think they've actually replaced Cadbury's Chocolate Balls on my list - that's how good they are. The chocolate is so smooth it rivals any European chocolate I've had. The best part is that Eric doesn't like the mint/chocolate combo, so he never steals them. They're all for me!

Watch Football!

Last night when Eric turned on the TV to sports highlights, Sawyer threw up his arms and yelled "Yay! Watch FOOTBALL!" Like father, like son. (I guarantee he didn't learn that from me!)

We had a nice Thanksgiving at the beach with the Watts/Buchanan clan. We went for walks and bike rides, ate too much, caught up with family, and yes, watched football. We came home on Saturday morning rather than Sunday to beat the traffic and it was nice to be home together for a bit before going back to life as usual again on Monday.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!